Sewage disposal apparatus



Nav. 24, 1936. w. H. LANG SEWAGE DI SPOSAL APPARATUS Filed sept. 21,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l .0G 00 l QN NN NN.

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Nov. 24, 1936. W, H, LANG v 2,061,84l

SEWAGE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2l, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedNov. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Webster Manufacturing Company,Chicago,

lll., a corporation of Ohio Application September 21, 1933, Serial No.690,426

3 Claims.

The invention relates generally to sewage disposal and more particularlyto the removal of 'grit and inorganic matter from the sewage and itsrecovery for use.

One-object ofthe invention is to provide an ap- ,5 paratus whichcomprises new and improved means for separating the grit from the sewageindependently of. the organic matter in suspension, and also comprisessimple means for washing the grit so it will be adapted for use.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages andcharacteristics of the present apparatus will be apparent from aconsideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which arehereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at theconclusion hereof. 4

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of. this specificationor disclosure and in which like numerals of reference denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views: Fig.` 1 is alongitudinal section of an' apparatus embodying the invention. Fig. 2 isa vertical section of the apparatus on the line 2-2 of Fig.

line 4-4 of Fig. 3. l

The apparatus which forms the subject matter 30 of the inventioncomprises a channel I0 through usual settling or other chambers forpurication. The sewage flows through lthe channel III at a sufficientvelocity to keep the organic mattervin suspension and to carry it to thepurifying or settling chambers. Initially the sewageencounters acoarseorbar screen II which is vadapted to retaink all large pieces ofvmaterial-in4 the sewage. If. desired, automatic raking mechanism 40(n'ot shown) may be provided to removethe material caught 'by thescreen. rThe loutlet I2 of thisv channel is connected to deliver thesewage to the settling or other chambers in which the `sewage istreated. 45 .A baiile 40 over which outlet I2 is disposed in the channelIIl immediately behind the grit removing conveyor presently to bedescribed. The organic matter in suspension is carried through thechannel over the baffle 40, while the heavier material, such as grit,settles on the bed II)a .of thev channel I0 before the sewage reachesthe baille 40.

In addition tothe channel I the apparatus comprises a conveyorfor-removing the gritv from 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectionon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is asection-on the which sewage isadapted .to ow in transit to the' the sewageflows to the the channelwhilethe sewage is passing therethrough. This conveyor consists of apair of endless chains I4, and a series of V-shaped buckets I3 mountedon and between the chains. These chains pass around drive-sprockets I5on an elevated shaft I 6; around idler sprockets I'I which 5 are mountedadjacent the bottom of the channel I0 and near the outlet I2 on across-shaft I8 which is mounted in brackets i9 which are Iixed to theside-walls of the channel I0; and around a pair of. sprockets on across-shaft 2| which 10 is mounted in brackets 22 which are xed to saidside walls .of the channel. Sprocket-wheels I1 and 20 are disposedadjacent the bottom of the channel I0, so that there Will be a straightreach I4a of the conveyor along the bed of the channel, 15 which willcause the buckets I3`to travel in parallelism with the bottom and toscrape the grit oil:` the bed of the channel. The drive-shaft I6 andsprockets I5 are suitably mounted in an elevated supporting structure 23which is built above 20 the channel I0 so as to provide betweensprockets 20 and I5 a reach HIb of the conveyor which leads upwardly andslightly at an angle to the vertical; In this reach, the grit in thebuckets will be elevated from the bottom of the channel and throughthevstream of sewage. While the buckets are traversing thereach Mb, theywill be slightly tilted to drain the major portion .of the liquid fromthe grit, one side-wall of. each bucket being then lower than the otherfor that purpose. 30

The buckets, after passing .around the sprockets I5, will be inverted todischarge the grit-into a hopper 24 whichfdirects the grit into acrosschute 25 which contains a screw-conveyor 26 for conducting the gritlaterally to discharge it into a car 21 or any suitable vehicle fortransporting the grit to its point of use.

Angle iron bars 31 are anchored in the bed of the channel I0 and extendlongitudinally of the horizontal reach of the bucket conveyor to 40 formrails n which the chains I4 ride, to guide the buckets I3 so theirlowery edges will travel over and slightlyL spaced from the bed. Thebuckets I3 are `V-shaped, and in travelling over the bed I0, their lowersides will deflect or scoop 45 the grit into the buckets. These bucketstravel in a direction opposite to the ilow of the sewage, and thiscauses the water in the sewage adjacent the-bottom, to rinse orwash thegrit in transit. to the elevating reach of the conveyor.l "As thebuckets I3 are moving upwardly after leaving sprockets 20, they willtravel so the side-walls at one side will be lower than the other, sothat the major portion of the water in the buckets will overflow thatside and pass back into the 55 .arrests the large material in thesewage.

channel. In this manner, the conveyor serves to rinse or wash the gritpreparatory to removing it from the channel so that itwill be incondition for use without further washing. Strips 4I, with inclined topsurfaces .are placed on the bed I lla between the side-walls of thechannel and the bars 31, to deect the grit into the space traversed bythe buckets I3.

'The conveying mechanism is driven'from motor 28 on the top of thesupporting structure 23, by gearing comprising a speed-reduction unit29, a cross-shaft 30 which drives a sprocketwheel 3| to drive, through achain 32, a sprocket wheel 33 on the drive-shaft I6 of the grit elevatorand conveyor. A sprocket-wheel 34 on shaft 30 drives through a chain 35,a sprocket-wheel 36 on the shaft of the screw 26 which conveys the grittransversely through chute 25.

In operation, the sewage iiows through the channel I0 at a suitablevelocity to keep theorganic matter in suspension. The screen II Afterpassing through the screen, the inorganic matter of heavy specificgravity in the sewage is deposited on the bed Il)a of the channel alongthe horizontal reach of the conveyor. The buckets I3 scoop the grit intotheir apices and travel counter to the flow, so the current will rinsevor wash the grit in the buckets, and will tend to hold the grit therein.After passing around sprockets 20,Lthe buckets will be tipped slightlyto pour off the liquid back into the channel. Next, the grit will bedischarged intohopper 24 as the buckets pass over sprockets I5. Thescrew 26 and chute 25 deliver .the grit into the car 2 fortransportation to the place of use or storage. As the empty buckets passdownwardly and backwardly from sprockets I5 to sprockets I1, the

.flow of sewage is against the V-shaped bottoms of the buckets so theorganic matter will be deflected to keep the buckets clear.

The invention exemplifies a simple and eilicient apparatus forseparating the grit from sewage and recovering it for use.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appendedclaims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is: V

1. In a sewage disposal apparatusof the char-f acter described, thecombination with a comparatively narrow channel along which sewage isadapted to flow in one direction, of an endless conveyor comprisingbuckets and a chain and embodying a' substantially horizontal reachadapted to travel longitudinally over the bed of the channel in avdirection opposite to the ow of sewage through said channel, and havingthe' buckets thereof xedly connected to the links of the chain in suchmanner that during travel in said horizontal reach they face sidewise inthe direction of travel of said reach and operate to pick up the gritdeposited on thebed of the channel and permit the liquid portion of thesewage to wash and rinse the bucketed grit, said conveyoralso. embodyingan upstanding reach for elevating the grit loaded buckets out of thechannel and a downwardly extending return reachrwhereby the buckets arecaused to be inverted for grit discharging purposes, a member associatedwith the upper end of said down1 and embodying a substantiallyhorizontal reach adapted to travel longitudinally over the bed of thechannel in a direction opposite to the fiow of sewage through saidchannel, and having the buckets thereof xedly connected to the links ofthe chains so'that during travel in said horizontal reach they facesidewise in the direction of travel of said reach and operate to pick upthe grit deposited on the bed of the channel and permit the liquidportion of the sewage to wash and rinse the bucketed grit, said conveyoralso embodying an upstanding reach for elevating the grit loaded bucketsout of the channel and a downwardly extending return reach whereby thebucketsr are caused to be inverted for grit discharging purposes, aconveyor supporting structure Aextending above the channel and providedwith a platform adjacent the upper end of the substantially verticalreach, a cross conveyor on the structure for receiving vthe dischargedgrit, and 'mechanism for conjointly driving the bucket conveyor and thecross conveyor comprising a motor mounted on said platform.

3. In a sewage disposal apparatus of the charv acter described, thecombination of a comparatively narrow channel along which sewage isadapted to flow in one direction, of an endless conveyor comprisingbuckets and side chains and embodying a horizontal reach adapted totravel longitudinally over the bed of the channel in a directionoppositev to the flow of sewage through said channel and also embodyinga substantially vertical reach at the front end of the horizontal reachand a downwardly inclined return reach between the upper end of thevertical reach and the other or rear end of the'horizontal reach, thebuckets of said conveyor being substantially V-shaped in cross-sectionand xedly connected to the links of the chains so that the apex orbottom portions thereof are aligned with the chain links 'and theirinner side portions 'extend to one side of the links and their outerside `portions extend to the other side of said links and further'sothat during travel thereof in the horizontal reach they face sidewiseinthe direction of travel of said horizontal reach and are tiltedslightly upwards with respect to the chain links and thus operate topick up the grit deposited on the bed of the channel and permit theliquid portion of the sewage to wash and rinse the bucketed grit, andduring travel in said vertically extending reach they are tiltedslightly towards the inclined reach and permit of drainage back into thechannel of any'liquid sewage therein, means associated with the upperend of said return reach of the conveyor for catching the grit as it isdischarged by the buckets as they pass into said last mentioned` reach,and power means for driving the conveyor so that the horizontal reachthereof travels oppositely to said sewage iiow.

WILLIAM H. LANG.

